


Love at First Bite!

by Mafy_mod



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Human!Kuroko, M/M, vampire!Akashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2020-07-20 09:03:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19989547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mafy_mod/pseuds/Mafy_mod
Summary: Having finally become an "adult vampire", Akashi Seijuurou must now be responsible for his own food and where he gets it. Though, fortunately and unfortunately, it's not something as simple as visiting a blood bank and get the necessary amount for daily life.Getting a prey was easy, as expected of an Akashi, but it seems convincing Kuroko Tetsuya into cooperation may not be that effortless.





	1. Hit and Run

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! New fic is here!
> 
> The "adoptive parent" of this work is raggedywings, whose constant support is the reason why you're reading this fanfiction so early in the game.  
> Please make sure that those kudos also reach her loud and clear :D
> 
> Enjoy~

“Seijuurou, you are now considered an adult in our society,” started Akashi Masaomi, his stern red eyes staring at the fire burning in the fireplace of his personal study. A round glass with a blood-red liquid was being held in his hand, which lightly twirled its content around every now and then. “With your age and the teachings you’ve been submitted to, I trust that you will be a conscious drinker as you go through this one trial in school. Do not bring shame to our lineage.”

“Yes, Father,” acknowledged Akashi Seijuurou, offering a quick bow to his father before turning his body around and walk back to the door.

“It’s not the place of others to get involved in it but if you have trouble in finding suitable food, I will intervene,” added Masaomi as his son was opening the door. “Are we clear?”

“...” Akashi nothing said. He simply stepped outside of the study room and softly closed the door behind himself. A vicious frown was present on his features, his red eyes glowing in the dark corridor and his pointy canines painfully bitting at the insides of his cheek. He whispered, “You could at least say ‘happy birthday’ to your own son…”

-.-

Kuroko Tetsuya released a long, tired sigh as he took the dark green apron from around his body and placed it inside of his locker. The bookstore where he worked part-time at had received a particularly large shipping of books for his section that evening. Since he had such a kindhearted boss, he ended up doing overtime until after closing hours, placing all of the books in their corresponding shelves or storing them in the correct section of the storage area if the shelves already had plenty of them.

“I’m definitely not going to be paid for these extra hours, am I…?” sighed Kuroko, softly closing the locker’s door after removing his jacket from inside. He picked up his backpack and checked the time on his cell phone. He had just lost the last train. He sighed again. “Walking or taking a taxi, which one will be more painful later on…?”

Kuroko carefully measured the pros and cons of his two options as he dressed his jacket and placed his backpack over one of his shoulders. He then walked towards the bookstore’s backdoor and exited the building, still feeling indecisive over what to do - especially when he was greeted by biting cold wind the moment he had opened the door.

“It’ll be over 5,000 yen to get home by taxi but I’ll turn into a frozen lollipop if I walk home,” grumbled Kuroko, removing from inside of his backpack a wool scarf and readily placing it around his neck and mouth area. “If there’s a taxi on the main road, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll try walking home. Worst case scenario, I’ll just spend the night in a closeby manga café and then go directly to college from there…”

Having finally made up his mind on what to do, Kuroko quickly strode to the main road and carefully observed his surroundings. There were some occasional cars passing by… but no taxi whatsoever was in sight. There was a bus stop right in front of the bookstore, but if trains were no longer running, he couldn’t expect to be lucky with that one either.

Kuroko released a muffled groan and began his long walk back home. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and then stuffed his hands inside of his jacket’s pockets. It wasn’t snowing, luckily, but that December was being unusually cold even without it.

Tokyo’s streets were colourfully decorated with blinking lights and golden, red and white Christmas ornaments. Every store Kuroko passed by held some kind of Christmas promotion or events, some even limited editions of their products to celebrate the holiday season.

_ Maybe I should have preordered that Christmas cake in the convenience store, _ said Kuroko in the back of his mind as he passed by a closed cake store, several colourful lights making the cake display visible even during nighttime.  _ It’s not every year they create a Christmas cake with so much vanilla and custard cream in it. _

Kuroko felt his stomach growl in tandem with his thoughts. He couldn’t help but lightly laugh at it. Maybe he would have to visit his local convenience store and get some sugary desserts together with his very late dinner.

A small smile now being hidden underneath his scarf, Kuroko continued with his freezing pilgrimage back home. The streets were silent, with the exception of the occasional passing by car and the few stores that were still open and featured the usual Christmas songs. That’s why Kuroko was able to hear that small, so very frail meowing.

He came to a halt and looked around his surroundings, searching around for the small feline creature making such a sorrowful sound during such a cold night. When Kuroko looked to the other side of the road, he saw a small cat sitting on the sidewalk, the Christmas illuminations on the building behind it seemingly giving its fur and eyes a red shade.

“You poor thing, you’re worse off than me, aren’t you?” said Kuroko, his teal eyes filled with pity as he observed the unmoving cat being hit by the strong wind. He started removing his scarf from around his neck at the same time as he quickly crossed the road.

_ Screeeeeech. Crash! _

Like a deer in headlights, when Kuroko noticed the car that was travelling through the road in the precise moment he was crossing it, it was already too late. The car powerfully rammed against the side of his body, sending him flying a few meters against the rough asphalt. In the midst of shock and pain, Kuroko could only hear the car speeding away in an attempt to hit and run.

_ This is the worst… _ , weakly mumbled Kuroko in the back of his mind. He felt his breathing rhythm grow shallower and shallower, and the previous stabbing pain all over his body was beginning to turn into a numbing cold.

“Humans can be surprisingly stupid sometimes,” snorted a voice out of nowhere. With shaky eyelids, Kuroko forced himself to open his eyes just the slightest - the bare minimum to see a red shadow peeking at him from above. “But I admit it might have been my fault too so I’ll take responsibility for it.”

_ Ahh..., _ inwardly groaned Kuroko, his eyes closing once again as he could no longer muster enough strength to keep them open.  _ I really… wanted to eat… that Christmas… cake... _


	2. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "adoptive parent" of this work is raggedywings, whose constant support is the reason why you're reading this fanfiction so early in the game.  
> Please make sure that those kudos also reach her loud and clear :D

“Ahhhh!” Kuroko woke up with a startle, screaming his lungs out as he jumped into a sitting position on his bed. His heart thundered wildly inside of his ribcage and his entire body was coated in a cold layer of sweat that made his sleeping clothes uncomfortably stick to his body. He immediately lunged his hands towards himself and started patting all over his body, searching for any wounds. He then covered his sweaty features with his hands and released a long, exhausted sigh. “That sure was a scary dream…”

Kuroko let his body drop back to the bed and groped around his nightstand with his hand. Once he found his cell phone, he readily checked the time - it seemed he had missed his first two classes and was already quite late for the third one.

“Well, goodbye, perfect attendance…” groaned Kuroko, closing his cell phone and placing his arm over his eyes to shield himself from the sunlight. He stayed laying down for countless minutes, trying to calm down his raging heartbeat and ragged breathing rhythm.

Never once had Kuroko had a dream that felt so real that he could feel the cold wind biting into his skin, smell the burnt rubber as the wheels screeched against the asphalt… slowly lose consciousness as the numbing pain spread all over his body and then suddenly disappeared in a lonesome death.

“I really need a shower…” sighed Kuroko, once again sitting down on the bed as he prepared himself to get up. A ticklish sensation on his left wrist, however, made him come to a halt. When he looked over to his limb, he saw a thin light red bracelet around his wrist - bracelet which he didn’t remember seeing or buying or being given throughout his entire life. He motioned his limb up and stared at the bracelet, an eyebrow slightly arched in wonder. “What…?”

His doorbell suddenly rang, causing Kuroko to flinch in a small startle. He wasn’t in the most appropriate of appearances but seeing as it was probably just the postman or some sort of salesperson, he finally got up from the bed and made a wobbly beeline to the front door of his apartment.

“Yes?” said Kuroko, slowly opening the door and taking a peek to whoever was outside.

“I got you some breakfast,” announced an unknown redhead, gesturing a plastic bag from the nearby convenience store forward and showing it to Kuroko. Amid those unusual waking up circumstances, he had initially thought it had been his friend Kagami ringing on his doorbell, due to the hair colour and the topic of conversation. But Kuroko, without a doubt, had absolutely no idea who that man was. “Can I come in?”

“Um… Excuse me but… who are you?” asked Kuroko, hiding himself a little bit more behind the door out of suspicion.

“It’ll be easier to explain inside than talking here, where everyone can hear,” sighed the redhead, pushing the plastic bag closer to Kuroko. “Can I come in or not?”

“If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police,” warned Kuroko, immediately starting to close the door afterwards. The redhead’s next words, however, made him come to a halt.

“How does it feel to be hit by a car?” asked the redhead, a condescending smirk on his lips as he grabbed the side of the door and fully pushed the plastic bag inside of the bluenette’s apartment. “Is this the ‘thank you’ I get after saving your life? Now, I’ll only ask one more time. Can I come in or not?”

“Um… Please come in…” awkwardly said Kuroko, not understanding what was going on. How could the redhead know of the dream he had…?

“Excuse me for the intrusion,” announced the redhead, stepping inside of the entrance area, taking his shoes off and then going inside of the apartment as if he owned the place. He put the plastic bag on top of the table in the middle of the one-room apartment and majestically sat down in front of it. “Since I don’t know your preferences, I played safe and bought a regular breakfast.”

“T-Thank you…” hesitantly acknowledged Kuroko, slowly returning inside of the inner area of his apartment while cautiously observing the unknown man. He sat down opposite to the redhead and took a peek inside of the plastic bag - a can of coffee, two different types of rice balls… and a Christmas-themed small cake. “Um… Who are you?”

“I’m Akashi Seijuurou,” introduced himself the redhead, after releasing a small sigh. “I don’t know how much you remember from yesterday, but after you were hit by the car while crossing the road, I was the one who saved you. Well, part of it was my fault so I guess I was only solving the mess I caused in the first place. I was under the impression that there were no longer any living foolish humans that crossed the road without checking for cars first but it seems I was mistaken.”

“I-I don’t really… understand what you’re talking about…” breathed Kuroko, his heart slowly increasing its speed once again.

“Maybe this will help you refresh your memory a little bit,” said Akashi, a puff of smoke suddenly appearing all around his body. A cat, its fur light red and eyes of the same colour, suddenly appeared where he had been sitting at. The cat jumped to on top of the table and kept on staring to the flabbergasted bluenette. “Remember me now?”

“...Eh?” managed to croak Kuroko, his teal eyes open wide in shock. Out of the blue, the shocked expression was wiped out of his face and replaced by a completely expressionless demeanour. “I guess I’m still dreaming. And if I’m not, rather than call the police, I should call for an ambulance.”

“You’re a quite stubborn one, aren’t you?” sighed Akashi, jumping out of the table to the floor and returning to his real shape once again. “We don’t have much time today so I’ll give you a simple but in-depth explanation of what has happened. I’m a vampire. Yesterday night, I was looking for a blood recipient in my animal shape. I guess you were foolish enough to take pity on me and tried to give me some unwanted help, which led you to be hit by that car. I took responsibility for my actions, even if they didn’t lead to the result I was searching for, and healed your wounds by drinking your blood and giving you a little bit of my own. That bracelet on your wrist is a proof of that exchange. It means-”

“You turned me into a vampire!?” yelped Kuroko, his face getting deadly pale as he heard the redhead’s narration.

“If you’re bitten by a dog, do you become one? When you eat beef or pork, do you become a cow or a pig?” asked back Akashi, a slightly disbelieving expression on his face. When he heard the bluenette releasing a soft groan, he snorted. “I thought so. Becoming a vampire because you’re bitten by one or drink their blood is nothing more than myths created by fantasy novels and movies. If you’re born a human, you’ll die as one. The same goes for vampires. What I was trying to say before you interrupted me is that bracelet on your wrist means that you’ve become my blood recipient.”

“Blood… recipient…?” repeated Kuroko, having calmed down considerably after being told that he was and would always be a human.

“A walking, living blood bank for vampires, to put it simply,” explained Akashi, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. “Some like to call it ‘blood slaves’ or ‘food’ or several other names, but I find doing that tasteless and a lack of respect towards the beings that provide us sustenance. For vampires, humans are the only source of nourishment so keeping a healthy relationship with them is advisable. You can rest assured that, while you remain my blood recipient, you’ll be treated with respect and dignity, not used as a discardable meal source.”

“Um…”

“That bracelet will remain on you for a full month and then disappear on its own, which means our contract has been terminated,” continued Akashi. “Throughout this month, you’ll live together with me in the dorm of the school I attend. You’ll be given your own room, food and a daily allowance to compensate you for the blood you’ll provide me, as well as the time you’ll spend away from your usual routine and life. A far better part-time job than working on a bookstore, if you ask me. Once the month is over, the school will erase all of your memories and you’ll be free to return to your life as if nothing has happened. Of course, to avoid complications throughout this month, you’ll be replaced by a spiritual entity, called shikigami. It will continue living in the outside world as if you and it will be its accumulated memories that will replace the ones that the school is going to erase. Any questions so-”

“I don’t want to,” cut off Kuroko as soon as he was given the opportunity. A small frown was creasing his brows just the slightest. “Akashi-kun, I’m sorry but you can’t just show up here and tell me all of this out of the blue. I appreciate you saving me, yes, but as you said, it was you taking responsibility for the mess you caused. You and I owe nothing to one another now. It might be an appealing offer to some but not for me. I prefer to continue with my usual routine, attend my college classes and work part-time in the bookstore. I’m sorry but I’ll have to decline.”

“I see,” acknowledged Akashi, releasing a soft sigh afterwards before his face took on an unusually serious expression. “So you’ve chosen death.”

“...What…?” weakly croaked Kuroko, a shudder running down his spine and his blood turning as cold as ice in the blink of an eye.

“Time for a biology class,” announced Akashi, adopting a more relaxed sitting position while mischievously smirking at the bluenette. “The saliva of a vampire has healing properties, used to avoid leaving the humans with our bite marks after the contract is terminated. That’s what I did to heal you. In the most literal of senses, I licked the wounds all over your body so you could get back in shape.”

“...!” At hearing that, Kuroko’s face was immediately assaulted by a massive blush, a myriad of shades of red appearing on his features, neck and ears and nearly making a cloud of steam erupt from them.

“But the essential part of it is my blood,” continued Akashi, taking amusement on the bluenette’s quite endearing reactions. “Our blood carries a component in it that stimulates the creation of hematopoietic stem cells in the human body. In case you don’t know, these stem cells are where red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets come from. Basically, it’s what produces blood in the human body. Now, if there was a sudden increase in these stem cells, which originated a sudden increase in the blood amount coursing inside of your veins… what do you think it would happen to your body? New blood continues being produced every day and accumulates inside of your body. With your size, in a matter of three days, you’ll be suffering from massive haemorrhages through any hole in your body. Your veins and arteries will burst and also create internal bleeding, followed by your organs. If you don’t experience heart failure first, that is. All in all, you die.”

Kuroko remained frozen at that sudden reality injection. His hands trembled as he grabbed onto his sweaty clothes, memories of the car accident flashing inside of his brain. The dream he thought to be a dream had been so scary, so real. Of course, it seemed to be real - Kuroko truly had been hit by a car, which left him to bleed out in the middle of the road. The cold wind hitting his features, the sensation of all of his strength leaking out of his body, the pain and then the nothingness… Death was the scariest experience Kuroko ever had in his whole life… and he didn’t want to experience it ever again. At least, not in such a gruesome way.

“I-It’s just for a month… right?” hesitantly asked Kuroko, trying to keep his body from teetering around. “Once that month ends, I can return to my normal life… without the risk of dying… right?”

“For as long as you don’t drink more of my blood, the blood stimulant component will be fully out of your system the moment that bracelet fades away,” acknowledged Akashi, giving a quick nod with his head. “Once that happens, the stem cells will return to their normal levels, as well as the blood creation process. Does this mean we have ourselves an agreement?”

“...nn…” also acknowledged Kuroko with a small nod of his head, panic still coursing through his body - in the most literal of senses.

“Perfect,” said Akashi, a knowing smirk softly tugging at the corner of his lips.

  
_ Though all I just said was a lie, _ added Akashi in the back of his mind, trying to not let his smirk extent more than the advisable.  _ The healing properties and the blood creation stimulation is true but there’s no way it would lead the human body to overproduce any of its essential components. If anyone would be in trouble due to him refusing, it would be me. I can’t quite drink anyone else’s blood until that bracelet fades away, after all. _


	3. Breakfast - Vampire Ver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "adoptive parent" of this work is raggedywings, whose constant support is the reason why you're reading this fanfiction so early in the game.  
> Please make sure that those kudos also reach her loud and clear :D

“Thank you for the meal…” mumbled Kuroko, offering his thanks to the redhead as he opened the plastic wrap of one of the rice balls. He would have liked to readily goggle up the Christmas-themed cake but he needed to show some restraint in front of the person that had paid for it. He gave a quick sip to the lukewarm coffee and immediately twisted his nose at the bitter flavour. Kuroko got up from his sitting position and walked over to the kitchenette's cabinets so get some sugar. “Um… I don’t have anything fancy to offer but would you like to have something to eat or drink too, Akashi-kun?”

“I’m still quite full from all the blood I lapped down yesterday night,” said Akashi, following the bluenette around with his eyes as he remained sat down on his bed. He then added, a half mischievous smirk on his lips. “But since you’re offering, I can drink some more after you finish your breakfast.”

“Ah… Right…” awkwardly acknowledged Kuroko, averting looking at the redhead. Maybe he shouldn’t add much sugar to his coffee for it seemed he was still so out of it that he had inadvertently forgotten Akashi’s true nature. He had taken a quick shower to clean himself from the nightmarish sweat but perhaps it hadn’t been enough to fully wake him up. Kuroko walked back to the short table with a small flask filled with sugar and sat back down on the tatami floor. He didn’t quite want to talk but the silence was making him feel so self-conscious that anything was better than that at that point. “Um… How many times a day do vampires drink blood?”

“I would say it depends on the individual,” answered Akashi, still observing the bluenette’s movements. “It’s the same with humans, there’s some with big appetites, some that drink a sustainable amount and those that drink the bare minimum to live. Age also affects the amount needed on a daily basis, but deep down it all comes down to the individual’s appetite. In my case, two or three times a day is more than enough.”

“Do you bite your… blood recipients in the neck or is that also a myth created by novels and movies?” questioned further Kuroko, taking a small bite to the rice ball afterwards.

“They got that one right, at the very least,” acknowledged Akashi after releasing a small snort. “Though any part of the human body can be used. The neck is simply the easiest area. It’s where the jugular vein is located, which always carries a large amount of blood. There’s not a lot of bone or muscle in that area so it’s relatively pain-free compared to wrists or thighs. Believe me, it’s not funny to either the human or vampire when fangs hit bone during the drinking process. And neither it is to be chewing at hard muscle or flabby fat. So yes, the neck is the correct biting spot.”

“I-I see,” acknowledged Kuroko, focusing on the eating once again. He would have liked to point out that, the two of them being male, it would be far too embarrassing to be bitten in such a location. However, rational as Akashi was proving himself to be, the redhead would have most likely said that gender was completely irrelevant when it came to food. Kuroko didn’t quite know if that would be a good or bad answer to obtain.

“Is there anything else that you’d like to ask?” inquired Akashi this time, tilting his head just the slightest.

“Um… You said I would have to live together with you at the same school you attend,” started Kuroko, adding a couple of spoons of sugar to the nearly cold coffee and then mixing it. “Will I have to stay there 24 hours a day during an entire month?”

“Yes, of course,” readily answered Akashi, the lack of hesitation making the bluenette turn his body around at him in shock. “Let me explain it with human terms. I might be of age to get my own food, which is also the case to most of the vampires living on school grounds, but it’s not like we’re adults already. Just like human teenagers and young adults sometimes misbehave a lot, vampires sometimes get a bit reckless during the same life stage. Vampire schools exist to keep all of us under control until we’re formally able to live and mingle in the human society without revealing our identities. These schools are the reason why vampires are viewed as novels and movies’ material only. And the secret behind it is to limit our exposure to the outside world, at least while on our own. I’m here right now but only because I’ve received permission to go outside of school grounds to find a blood recipient. I’m quite sure there’s an adult vampire around supervising my behaviour, though. All in all, if I’m not allowed to go outside without permission, the same is obviously going to be applied to you too.”

“B-But I’m not a vampire!” pointed out Kuroko, the coffee completely forgotten on his hand. “Why would I also need to be restrained inside of your school? I definitely will not go around biting people in the streets!”

“But you know about the human-like creatures living among your kind that could go around biting people in the streets,” countered Akashi, his face growing slightly more serious. “A secret can only be kept with the effort of all of those that know about it. Until the moment that bracelet disappears and your memories are replaced by those of the shikigami, you’re just as much of a danger to vampire society as the younglings.”

“Well then, Akashi-kun, maybe you should start asking humans permission to become a blood recipient before you have them run over by a car because I definitely will not agree or follow that rule,” declared Kuroko, placing the coffee cup on top of the table with maybe a little bit too much strength, seeing as some drops fell all over its wooden surface. “I have a life. Staying over at a different location is something that I can somewhat accommodate for a month, but getting all of my movements restricted to the inside of a place that I have no knowledge about is totally out of the question.”

“Whatever arrangements you have throughout this month, the shikigami will do all of them for you so you have nothing to worry about,” said Akashi almost in the shape of a tired sigh. It seemed that the shock phase had gone by and now the rejection one was going at full blast. “The shikigami is as if a copy of you so it shares all of your memories, personality traits and so on. No one will notice that it’s a shikigami and they'll talk and act as if with the real you.”

“It’s not the same,” said Kuroko, a small frown creasing his brows. “To family, to friends… There’s no replacement for your memories with them, much like they have no equivalent replacement or copy.”

“...” Akashi silently observed Kuroko for a couple of seconds. Then he released a sigh. “Let’s try to negotiate a consensus about this. You do know that without a shikigami, when we erase your memories, it will be as if you suddenly developed partial amnesia, right?”

“I don’t negotiate with threats,” declared Kuroko, turning his back at the redhead and opening the small plastic container where the Christmas-themed cake was placed in. He picked up the small plastic spoon that came with it and delicately took a spoonful of the sponge cake adorned with coloured marzipan. He needed to remain sharp, however, so he had to pretend to not be inwardly melting at the sweetness by sideways glaring at the redhead.

“You should be more flexible…” sighed Akashi once again. He observed the frown on the bluenette’s face for a few more seconds and then took a quick glance to the outside through the window. “What are your terms?”

“Classes and my part-time job can be done by the shikigami,” said Kuroko after taking one more spoonful of the cake. “They occupy over 70% of my daily schedule so that’s a large portion of the month that I’ll have to stay closed off inside of your school. But I want to personally attend to other arrangements. Mainly my family and close friends.”

“I’m not the one who makes the school’s rules,” said Akashi, an eyebrow slightly arched as he heard those conditions. “But given the unusual circumstances we are in, I’ll see what they can do about it. Satisfied now or will you be making any more demands?”

“I want to keep my cell phone so I can perform any damage control in case this shikigami of yours fails,” added Kuroko, still sideways glancing at the redhead with deep suspicion as he finished the last bit of cake.

“Okay,” acknowledged Akashi with a small nod of his head. Inwardly, however, he couldn’t help but laugh. Kuroko would soon enough discover how badly the mixture of the middle of mountains and an anti-perception barrier worked with cell phones and their range. “Have you finished breakfast?”

“Yes. Once again, thank you for the-” Before Kuroko could even finish his sentence, Akashi suddenly closed in on him. He couldn’t help but reflexively jump closer to the table to restore the lost space between the two of them. It sure was quite the refreshing feeling to be Kuroko experiencing the startling rather than those around him. “W-What is it, Akashi-kun?”

“It’s time for my promised breakfast,” nonchalantly announced Akashi, giving a small tug to the fabric covering the bluenette’s shoulder so as to expose his pale neck even further. Seeing the light blush that blossomed on Kuroko’s cheeks, a smirk also popped out on his lips. “You might as well get used to it, Kuroko. If anything, vampires are carnivores… and you are my current prey.”

“Ngh!” To Kuroko’s surprise, when Akashi’s lips touched his neck and his two sharp fangs perforated his skin, he didn’t feel as much pain as he was expecting. It was extremely similar to that light pinch it was felt when testing sugar levels with a glucose monitor machine. Only several hundred times more embarrassing, with all the sucking and suckling. By the time the redhead gently licked his skin to close the round perforation marks, Kuroko’s brain was spiralling far too fast for him to even realise that breakfast time was now officially over for the day.

“You…” nearly whispered Akashi, his red eyes tightening his thin slits as he closely observed the blushing bluenette while licking the remnants of blood from his lips.

“Eh…?” interjected Kuroko, slowly turning his wobbling head towards Akashi.

“You have too much sugar in your blood!” admonished Akashi, pointing at the empty plastic container which had previously housed the Christmas-themed cake. “I already had a small suspicion of it but I was far too preoccupied with healing you rather than savouring you yesterday night to fully take notice of it. High levels of sugar. Low levels of vitamin D, iron and calcium. No wonder your bones broke so easily when you were hit by the car! Not to mention, you’re nearly anaemic, even taking the car accident into consideration! What have you been eating to get like this?”

_ H-He’s worse than my mother… _ , inwardly mumbled Kuroko before his brain reached its limit and crashed down. And so, Kuroko fell backwards against the tatami floor with a muffled thud.

“Eh? Kuroko?” called Akashi, taking a peek at the unconscious bluenette from above. “I didn’t drink that much…”


	4. Unfair Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "adoptive parent" of this work is raggedywings, whose constant support is the reason why you're reading this fanfiction so early in the game.  
> Please make sure that those kudos also reach her loud and clear :D

“You have imposed as many demands as you felt like,” started Akashi, his arms crossed over his chest as he sat down on the bed right in front of the bluenette. “Now it’s my turn to impose a couple of demands on you. Feel free to moan and complain about them as much as you want, but if you refuse them, you’ll probably die.”

“Yes…” mumbled Kuroko in acknowledgement, awkwardly sat down in seiza style on the floor.

“You will eat exactly what I tell you to eat, no more, no less,” said Akashi, his gaze momentarily tightening when Kuroko readily opened his mouth to throw the first set of complaints. Good thing he gave up mid-attempt, or he would have quieted him down himself. “Right now, augmented blood production or not, there’s a 99% chance of you dying from blood loss if I feed on you three times a day. You will eat what I tell you to eat, when I tell you to eat. If you refuse, I will tie you up and force it down on you. We do have IV drips at our disposal in my school, just in case one of the blood recipients gets a bit anaemic. I don’t mind tying you down to a bed and feed you like that until our contract is over. Are we clear?”

“Yes…” acknowledged Kuroko, though he didn’t forget to throw a furious glare at the overbearing vampire.

“When you’re outside of school grounds dealing with your personal arrangements, you can eat whatever you want,” continued Akashi, giving a sharp nod at the bluenette’s previous answer. “However, I will be around to make sure you don’t wolf down the entire sugar content of this city during those few hours you’d be out and about. Understood?”

“Yes…” answered Kuroko in the form of a tired sigh. He momentarily averted Akashi’s strict gaze as he inwardly mumbled to himself,  _ I’ll just make sure to have my trail lost. Misdirection is a perfect weapon for a counter-attack in this type of situations. _

“Blood recipients have access to the entirety of our school, but I fear you’ll be easily bought over if any vampire tries to offer you sweets,” said Akashi to finalise his side of the demands. “I wouldn’t put it above quite a lot of the students to do something like that. So during the class period, I’d like you to stay in your room or in a safe location that I’m aware of. When I’m not in a class, feel free to walk around as much as you want under my supervision.”

“I don’t have the habit of accepting food from complete strangers, Akashi-kun,” deadpanned Kuroko, inwardly cringing at the redhead’s suspicions. He wouldn’t accept candy from strangers but he would probably end up being tempted to eat it if they pressed the right buttons…

“That’s good to know,” acknowledged Akashi, trying to read what was being hidden behind Kuroko’s expressionless demeanour. “Since you didn’t raise any complaints about what I just said, I take it that it’s something you can somewhat accommodate?”

“I don’t like the idea of being forced to stay copped up inside of a room, but I dislike even more the possibility of being exploited by one more vampire,” confessed Kuroko, twisting his nose just the slightest at it. “I also don’t like the way you’re trying to control everything I do, but I’m aware that I have very unhealthy eating habits. You’re not the only one who tries to keep an eye on what I eat…”

“We have ourselves a deal, then,” said Akashi, getting up from the bluenette’s bed. “There’s no need for you to pack any of your belongings. Anything that you may need will be provided by the school. Also, the car that drove me here has been waiting for us for far too long. We need to leave.”

“Is your school far from here?” inquired Kuroko, also getting up from the seiza sitting position. He lightly stretched his legs, trying to kick out the ticklish sensation on his limbs, and also started walking towards the front door, only taking with him his cell phone, wallet and keys.

“It’s in Kyoto,” shortly answered Akashi. As soon as he finished that sentence, his body disappeared out of the blue, his presence once again replaced by his red-furred cat form.

“K-Kyoto!?” yelped Kuroko, completely caught off guard with that up-until-then unknown detail. “If you live in Kyoto, why did you come to Tokyo to search for a blood recipient? Am I supposed to travel back and forth between Kyoto and Tokyo to get my life done?”

“A deal is a deal,” said Akashi, his mouth getting a mischievous feline smirk to it. “For as long as you don’t break it, it’s up to you how you go about it.”

“You deceived me! How is that a deal?” pointed out Kuroko, a deep frown on his brows as he looked down at the red cat.

“I don’t remember calling it a fair deal,” said Akashi in his own defence, snobbishly turning his head away from the human.

“Since you’re in cat shape right now…” started Kuroko, leaning his upper body forward and grabbing cat Akashi by the belly. His face was frighteningly void of emotion. “Shall I test if the myth that cats always land on their feet is true or not? Or would it be better to test out the Schrodinger’s cat theory? What do you say about that, Akashi-kun?”

What prevented Kuroko from walking to his flat’s window was the sudden ringing of the doorbell. After releasing a small sigh, Kuroko adjusted the cat’s position against his chest and returned to the front door area.

“Coming,” announced Kuroko, leaning Akashi over his shoulder so he could free one of his hands and open the door. Outside was a familiar face waiting. “Kagami-kun.”

“Hey, Kuroko,” greeted Kagami Taiga, happily grinning at the bluenette at the same time as he motioned forward a large paper bag. “Did you catch a cold again? This is the first time I see you missing classes without any warning. …What’s up with that weird-looking cat?”

“Ah…” mumbled Kuroko, slowly glancing at the cat-slash-vampire he was holding in his arms. Akashi remained completely motionless, but he could feel the feline lightly stabbing his sharp nails on his shoulder. “When I was on my way to college this morning, I bumped into a group of children bullying this cat. They painted his fur with red paint, as you can see. I was about to take him to the vet so he can be observed for ink poisoning and cleaned.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened,” said Kagami, getting closer to the bluenette and taking a more detailed look at the cat. “Yesterday I cooked too much food again and was going to ask you to come to my place so you could take some of it. But since you missed all of your morning classes, I was using my break to bring them to you and check up if you were doing okay. I texted and called you several times but you showed no signs of still being alive.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you, Kagami-kun,” apologised Kuroko, offering a quick bow. “But I’m okay. It was just this little accidental meeting with this cat that made me miss my classes.”

“Yeah? You do seem paler than usual,” pointed out Kagami, an eyebrow slowly getting arched on his brows. “Make sure to eat these when you get back from the vet. Just give me the containers after you finish eating, as usual.”

“I will, thank you very much,” said Kuroko, once again bowing at his friend. He took a hold of the heavy paper bag (where exactly did Kagami buy paper bags that could sustain so much weight without ripping, he had to wonder) and placed it inside of his entranceway. “Would you like to have some tea before you go, Kagami-kun?”

“‘Can’t or I’ll arrive late to my next class,” declined Kagami, taking a quick glance to his cell phone to check the time. “And you have to take the furball to the vet too, right?”

“Pfft… Um, yes, I do,” acknowledged Kuroko, nearly snorting in amusement at the way Kagami had addressed the proud vampire in cat shape. “Once again, thank you very much, Kagami-kun. I’ll see you tomorrow on the campus.”

“Later!” said Kagami, waving his hand at the bluenette as he turned around on his heels.

“I’m sorry, Akashi-kun,” said Kuroko, placing the cat on the floor after having closed the front door and picking up the large paper bag. “After I store these in the fridge, we can leave… Haa… To Kyoto, I guess…”

“Who is he?” asked Akashi, silently following after the bluenette and then sitting on the floor, his eyes observing as the human opened the fridge and started filling it with the countless plastic boxes and containers placed in the paper bag.

“Kagami-kun has been my classmate since our first year in high school,” explained Kuroko, carefully organising each container depending on their contents. He wasn’t quite sure how the shikigami worked, or if it even ate human food, so he might as well make his food storage as organised and accessible as possible. “We now attend the same university, but in different departments. In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not threatening him in any way to cook for me. Like I told you a few minutes ago, you’re not the only one who tries to keep an eye on what I eat or not eat.”

  
“That’s not what I was wondering about,” sighed Akashi, leisurely waltzing towards the window and then jumping to its sill. He followed the visitor with his red eyes as he walked further and further away from the apartment complex.  _ Well, it took a while to convince Kuroko that I’m a vampire so I guess he’s not aware of this halfling’s true nature. _


	5. Shikigami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "adoptive parent" of this work is raggedywings, whose constant support is the reason why you're reading this fanfiction so early in the game.  
> Please make sure that those kudos also reach her loud and clear :D

“ _ These _ are shikigamis?” deadpanned Kuroko, his teal eyes stuck to a square roofless metal cage filled with… puppies. Several different dog breeds still in the puppy stage, to be more precise.

“Yes,” shortly acknowledged Akashi, closely observing the puppy litter while occasionally stealing glances at the bluenette. The closer the shikigami resembled the human, the lesser problems there would be when it took their shape.

_ Once again, I’m starting to wonder if all of this isn’t just a very well played prank or hidden camera show…, _ inwardly sighed Kuroko, his eyes floating around his surroundings in search of anything that could resemble a camera or be used to hide one.

When he and Akashi arrived at the mentioned vampire school, Kuroko thought he would find a creepy looking, nearly haunted, agglomerate of buildings, with dead trees siding the desert school road that connected with the front gate. What he found was a perfectly normal school building, with naked cherry trees neatly trimmed as preparation for Springtime along the school road. Small groups of school-aged teenagers - or so they seemed to Kuroko, from his human point of view - walked and happily talked all around the modern mass of buildings, dressed with what he could assume to be the school uniform.

Akashi took him to the Headmaster’s office, to make his report about the newly found blood recipient. If Kuroko hadn’t known better, he would have thought that the Headmaster was simply a kind-looking senior. There were absolutely no indications or weird aspects that would have made anyone suspect that he was something other than a human.

Kuroko received a key for his bedroom, an electronic card to be able to go in and out of the school grounds whenever he needed and a bank book to where his monetary reward would be transferred to upon the completion of the monthly contract.

_ And now, here I am, staring at a bunch of adorable puppies that aren’t actually puppies but mythological creatures that will take my shape and replace my existence for one full month, _ said Kuroko in the back of his mind, an eyebrow slightly arched as he continued observing the cute animals excitedly barking and jumping around, begging to be petted.

“So, um… How exactly does a shikigami work, Akashi-kun?” asked Kuroko when the redhead picked up a small Alaskan malamute puppy from the litter. When Akashi motioned the puppy forward in his direction, Kuroko hesitantly grabbed the small animal by the sides of its fluffy torso. The friendly shikigami, however, readily threw its furry body forward and avidly started licking his face. “W-Wait…!”

With a sudden puff of white smoke, the puppy disappeared and was replaced by an identical twin copy of Kuroko. The only way of telling the two apart was that one of the Kurokos had his face wet and sticky with dog saliva.

“Let me guess… body fluid exchange again?” deadpanned Kuroko, a not-so-friendly expression on his slobbered face as he glanced over at the redhead.

“Pfft… A shikigami can change shape two times during their lives,” explained Akashi, nearly laughing on the bluenette’s face due to his pitiful, yet weirdly endearing, saliva dripping appearance. He took a handkerchief from his coat’s pocket and motioned it towards Kuroko, who grudgingly accepted it. “We usually create shikigamis by using dog blood as a medium to summon it. Dogs are friendly and obedient when well trained, not to mention they’re easy to contain inside of these cages, so those are the reasons why we choose this animal. His second and final change is through body fluid contact, yes. Though since it’s just a little bit of saliva on the skin, it doesn’t last for very long, only roughly a month. They then return to their dog shape and remain as such until they fade away.”

“A small warning would have been appreciated,” grumbled Kuroko, quickly wiping his face with the handkerchief. After removing the worst of the slobber, he looked over to his copied body. “...What’s your favourite food?”

“Vanilla milkshakes,” answered the shikigami, its teal eyes shining in excitement over the mention of the sugary beverage and voice exactly the same as the person who had made the initial question.

“I feel slightly called out right now,” deadpanned Kuroko once again, inwardly cringing at his unhealthy sugar addiction. This following month would be a torturous ordeal, that was guaranteed. He could already feel the withdrawal symptoms arriving and see some attempts at sneaking sugary treats to his temporary quarters happening.  _ I never thought I’d become a sweets smuggler as a child. _

“The shikigami automatically knows what it should do so you can rest assure,” said Akashi, observing as the Kuroko-copy started walking out of the building and towards the front gate on its own initiative. “No one will suspect a thing.”

“I have my doubts about it,” sighed Kuroko, worriedly following his doppelganger with his eyes. “Kagami-kun is scared of dogs, in an adorable extreme way, and he has very good instincts. He might not feel very comfortable with interacting with ‘me’ in the next few weeks.”

“I can imagine,” acknowledged Akashi, a small frown on his brows at that small, innocent remark. Humans didn’t possess a good awareness of the things they considered as ‘supernatural’ most of the time - hardly any human would be able to tell which of the two was the true Kuroko. Halflings were a different story, as far as Akashi’s knowledge on the matter went. After releasing a soft sigh, Akashi went to check the time on his cell phone. “Well then, it’s well past lunchtime. I say we move to the next feeding session.”

“Eh!?” yelped Kuroko, his body flinching at hearing those feared words. He gulped down hard in dry. “A-Are you already hungry, Akashi-kun…?”

“Just as much as you should be,” pointed out Akashi, returning his cell phone to his pocket. “Neither of us has eaten anything since we left your apartment in Tokyo, and the travel to Kyoto was long and tiring.”

“I-I’m not hungry yet, not at all,” denied Kuroko, calmly turning his body around to not look directly at the vampire. “I can still go a good couple of hours without fo- Nghh!”

“Care to remind yourself of my side of our agreement, Kuroko?” interrupted Akashi, grabbing the bluenette by the cheeks with one of his hands and giving a couple of squeezes to them. A serious, commanding demeanour was present on his face as his red eyes stared straight at the bluenette’s teal ones. “You’re going to eat. All of it. With no complaints. Understood?”

“Yesh…”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to read more chapters and more fanfictions, including the ones Ao3 has deleted, go [here](https://mafyswritinghut.blogspot.com/). (construction ongoing)  
> New blog with all fics, chapters, webnovels and explanations why I decided to not even put a fight and leave Ao3 instead.


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